Judging accomplishments

Thank you for the wonderfully enlightening article "The Judge Who Judged His Sister," July 30. The author has singularly taps into an important aspect of the Clarence Thomas nomination for the US Supreme Court. She pares away other less relevant facts and focuses this reader's attention on issues that are relevant to us all.The issue is measuring individual achievement. It is often limited to "What have you accomplished professionally?" That's akin to saying the importance of a job is strictly a function of how much the job pays. Clarence Thomas has done well for himself professionally. But so has his sister Emma Mae Martin. She raised her children after her husband abandoned the family. And she took care of an elderly incapacitated aunt. However, her good work is not recognized by our society. I applaud Ms. Martin for doing what was right. And I applaud the author for picking up on it and making the concept understandable. God bless Ms. Martin; it is people like her who enrich our lives. They are the somebodies who should be held up as role models more often. Dick Sheasley, Anchorage, Alaska

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